The 15 Things We Miss Most About Movie Theaters

The film was Bloodshot. It was not very good. It was certainly not the title I would pick had I known that it would be the final motion picture I would see projected on a screen for months and months.

On March 10, coronavirus was already threatening New York City. I debated going to the screening, but public officials were still encouraging people to go about their lives. The trip on the subway was a little unnerving, but the movie theater was still the movie theater. For a couple hours, my mind was taken off the troubles in the outside world. Even if I didn’t love Bloodshot, I appreciate the break from reality.

If you’re reading these words, odds are you can relate to that sentiment. When things get tough, when the world gets too intense, we retreat into the dark. The theater is an escape, coping mechanism, and excuse to eat junk food all rolled into one. And now, when I and so many people need it most, it’s gone, at least for weeks, and maybe much longer. Everyone seems to believe movie theaters will return. But no one can say when that return will happen.

Movies aren’t gone, and we’re fortunate to live in an age when thousands of them are available at a click of a button on our televisions and computers. Still, there are some things home video can’t replicate, including some aspects of moviegoing that I took completely for granted until March 11. In tribute to every movie theater that’s closed because of coronavirus, with deep appreciation and hope to see you all again very soon, I humbly submit the following list: